Using the Law to Witness to Others
Today I am going to share with you something that I have found to be the most important part of how we witness to other people. In the late 1970's, a man named Ray Comfort began to explore Church growth records. He found that 80 to 90 percent of those making a decision for Christ are falling away from the faith.
A major denomination in the United States reported to have 11,500 churches in the U.S. This same denomination reported to have obtained 294,000 decisions for Christ in 1991. This same church could only find 14,000 of those people in fellowship today. Modern evangelism is preaching the benefits of salvation, with out using the law to show the sinner why they are lost with out God. These statistics are the normal results of modern evangelism.
The way that we present the Gospel determines the kind of response the person will make. We need to present the Gospel with the law in mind.
Here is an illustration that Ray Comfort uses in his Book, "Hells best kept secret":
Two men are seated in a plane. A stewardess gives the first man a parachute and tells him that it will improve his flight. The passenger is a little skeptical, but after hearing the persuasion of the stewardess, he decides that what she says is true. After he puts it on, he notices the uncomfortable weight of the parachute, and that it makes it uncomfortable to sit with it on. Eventually other people in the plane start laughing at him. The passenger decides that it isn't worth it to wear the parachute anymore and he takes it off. He feels that he has been lied to.
Another stewardess gives the second man a parachute. She tells him to put it on because at any moment he will be jumping out of the plane. The second passenger gratefully straps the parachute on. He doesn't notice its weight upon his shoulders. All he can think about is that he would die without the parachute. When other passengers laugh at him, he thinks, "You won't be laughing when you're falling to the ground!"
The first person was promised that the parachute would only improve his flight, but he wasn't told why. But the second man was promised that the parachute would save him from would otherwise be the death to come.
Much like the laws in the Old Testament, the law is God solving a problem before it occurs (Maxwell, 2010). As Reggie Joiner reminds us: “Relationship comes before rules” (Maxwell, 2010, 176). If a relationship forms, rules are easier to embrace. Rules are a tool to keep the ship and everyone on it going in the same direction. Shared systems of values strengthen partnerships minimizing the possibility of comprise. Values determine our actions. Our conscience can be a fickle thing if not tended to. A good study of 1 Timothy 1:5 will sharpen the cause for keeping the conscience in order and know that a good conscience is the product of a pure heart. Finally, we trust fully in God’s promises to comfort us, but need to share that same comfort through an empowerment to do so from God himself. Kept promises are the glue that holds all the guidelines together and shuttles them into the heart and soul of mankind by building
When the men arrived they were paired with another man an actor who was a confederate. The two men drew pieces of paper stating what they were expose to be during the experiment either the “Teacher” or the “Learner”. What the men who replied form the paper did not know was that the drawing was rigged and the actor always became the Learner. There was
The sun was really hot so the black man told him to give him his close so he did. Then the man tore some wood from the boat and made a shelter with the close. Phillip said wear are w wears my mom but the man said she’s not here but she’s probably in a different life boat. Phillip was really thirsty so the man opened a hatch in the boat and took some water out of a keg. He only gave Phillip a half a cup so Phillip asked for more. The man said they must spare as much water as possible.
One day, Kenny got hurt when he heard someone yell “watch out” ot him. Even though he caught the ninety pound box with one hand, he was thrown against the momentum belt because of the massive weight. Kenny went to the doctors who bandaged his hand and he was free to go home. He stayed at home for a few days but then returned back to work. Kenny had been instructed to do light duty after his injury. Kenny recovered after a few weeks and went back to Greeley plant to work. He got remarried but was still loyal to the company. One day, Kenny was working and he saw that someone was about get hurt. He yelled out “watch out” but the employee didn't hear him. So he ran up to him and saved him. He then got an award for saving a co
...rom His love (Isa 59:2) and forgo His command to turn, repent and be saved (Rom 10:9). However, when the power of the word of God is presented to lost and willing lives, their eyes and ears are opened to a new life in Christ (Isa 29:18-19). Revealed through the Holy Spirit and expounded by Holy Scripture, the modern pastor is furnished and called to carry out the work of Christ (2 Tim. 1:6-11).
It’s one long humid Sunday, and your sitting there listing to the Pastor drone on and on about sin. But his argument seems empty, so you open up your bible out of boredom. Turning to First John chapter three verse 3 and 4 you read, “Everyone who has this hope before him purifies himself, as Messiah (Christ) is pure. To commit sin is to break God’s law: sin, in fact, is lawlessness” (The New English Bible). The question forms in your mind burring to be asked and answered. Finally you get the Pastor’s ear and ask “What does this mean, here in First John 3:3-4? What law is John Talking about”? The Pastor pulls out a pat answer, “The Law of Christ”, he explains, is what the text is referring to. His answer is just as empty as the other responses he’s given you about many other subjects. You might be asking yourself some of these very good questions yourself, but do you ever find a satisfying answer? Did you ever get a logical answer? Has it always been some sort of an explaining away of your question? I can show you how man’s traditions, have blinded us like a set of rose colored glasses do, to what the scriptures say plainly.
The Bible emphasizes God’s sovereignty in that His motivation for saving the lost is love (Ephesians 1:4-5, John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10) and that God's means of saving the lost is the proclamation of His Word (Romans 10:14-15). The Bible also states that the Christian is commanded to be fervent and unwavering in his/her sharing with unbelievers; as ambassadors for Christ, we are to plead with people to be reconcil...
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
...and, J. (n.d.). Witnessing to Disciples of the International Churches of Christ. Christian Research Institute. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://www.equip.org/articles/witnessing-to-disciples-of-the-international-churches-of-christ/
Within the law there are three functions; the curb function, mirror function and a rule. These three uses of the law act as a path to fulfill civil righteousness to therefore become closer to Christ. The three different functions of the law all have their different effects. While these three functions are based on people’s reactions to the law, the overall outcomes are based on their sinfulness and unsuccessful completions of God’s commands. As stated by Mueller, ‘“The law affects people externally as a “curb” and internally as a “mirror”’ (Mueller, 43). The third use of the law acts as the function for someone to be saved by grace alone apart from the overall co...
Why would someone pass up the opportunity of receiving a free gift? Then once accepting the gift, why would someone keep that good news to himself or herself? Most people would want to share and tell others how they too could receive the gift. This must be how the disciples felt waiting for the Lord to fulfill his promise to send the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). They had a gift from God to share, which offered everlasting life through His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit was to be their helper and give them power to be witnesses for His message of salvation. In Acts 2:1-47, Luke tells about the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and the Christian mission. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Virgin Mary gives them the courage to practice their faith. It confirms their responsibility to follow the teachings of Jesus and spread the Gospel “to the ends of the earth” (1:8).
Towards the end of her vacation, the woman tries to figure out a way to get the top layer of the paper off from the bottom one. On the last night, she pulls off yards of the top layer while the wallpaper lady helps her out. Then in the morning, the wallpaper begins to laugh at her and she declares that she will finish getting off the top layer that day. She continues to pull at the paper while it laughs at her. At the end she decides to climb behind the first layer of wallpaper and creep as the wallpaper lady did. Her husband arrives and gets into the room after some time and then faints because he realizes his wife has gone stark raving mad!
“Here goes nothing,” I thought to myself before I skied toward the jump. I sped toward the jump remembering what Trevor had told me. I soared through the air with my neon green pants flapping in the air. As my skis touched down, I bent my knees and realized I had landed the jump. My Dad skied to Trevor and I, and I found out that my dad had recorded it so I could re-live the moment. I was super excited they had caught my success on tape! Soon after I landed the jump, it was time to leave
For anyone who does not understand the distinction between law and gospel, Scripture will remain incomprehensible. In order to fully understand the bible one must first educate themselves with the distinguishing characteristics of both law and gospel otherwise they will regard the bible as being filled with discrepancies. According to Luther, law and gospel are two different ways the Word of God comes to us. Luther believed the Church has lost the message that God is forgiving and compassionate, instead the church adopted the view that God is a lawgiver. Luther acknowledged that law and gospel are in both the Testament but he linked Law more with the Old Testament and gospel with the New Testament.
The rumble of the helicopter shakes a tension into your composure. With every second, your worries broaden. The time has come, signaled by a shift in acceleration, and the readiness of the hands pressed to the straps and buckles. Un-buckled, you rise with everyone, and go to await the fall. This is your first time sky diving, and it is expected that you would be afraid. Suddenly, the rumble of the helicopter sounds rather inviting. The sky is empty and boundless, with the exception of the nauseating ground below. "What is the point of sky diving? It seems so pointless…" It is your turn to go, and you 've seemed to convince yourself that it is indeed pointless. These skydivers seem to recognize the feeling, and once you make sign of